Hello, my friends. I am a monumental artist my first flickr account is basketo1 (www.flickr.com/photos/basketo1 I use it as portfolio). And my hobby is a collecting of antique beads, including dZi beads. I am a mineralogist and gemologist, I have the rank of a jeweler. I am studying the life of the Agates and writing a book about it.

I collected beads in the countries of Oceania, Malaysia, Thailand and Nepal. But most of my collection from the Indian city of Dharamsala.

This is a small city in northern India, McLeod Ganj - and other areas not far from the city in the foothills of the Himalayas.

This city known as Little Lhasa or Dhasa because of the large number of Tibetans. The headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile and the residence of the Dalai Lama have been located here from the 1950s to the present.

It so happened that I got a collection of dZi beads of my teacher, who lives in MacLeod Ganj.

I photograph and study ancient Agate dZi beads and nuggets of minerals, do live long-term experiments to more accurately determine the life and growth of Agates. And I'm also looking for new evidence of the Silicon Life Form.

If you need advice on minerals or beads, to determine the age and origin of your bead, do not hesitate to write to me, send pictures, I will be happy to answer.